Survive
by LadyAyumi
Summary: While training with the Vizards, an accident happens that changes everything. Now Ichigo has to survive in a world full of hollows, Espada and Aizen.
1. Prolouge

Summary: While training with the Vizards, an accident happens that changes everything. Now

Ichigo has to survive in a world full of hollows, Espada and Aizen.

Sadly I do NOT own any of the bleach characters. :(

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.

Prologue

A lone Arrancar sat upon a pile of dead bodies. Long orange hair flowing in the wind behind him. The eternal moon of Hueco Mundo shining upon his form giving it a beautiful but frightening glow. A mask fragment was on the left side of his head. To it connected was a single horn with red stripes at the tip. The Arrancar looked tired and battered.. Blood stained the rags that were once clothing. Still, even so he was always alerted. Always ready to slice every single enemy apart who dared to come near him. Footsteps could be heard. They were coming closer to his location. He gripped his black blood tainted sword tighter as he looked up to see who the footsteps belonged to. To his surprise, it was not a hollow. It was a single man. He was tall, had brown hair with a single strand hanging in his face. The man in front of him wore a traditional Arrancar-Uniform and his sword was tugged in his red obi. The two of them just stared at each other for a while. Then the tall man opened his mouth.

"I have a proposition for you... Kurosaki Ichigo."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Well, got a new story idea. Don't really know if I really update this since I actually want to make shure that I don't forget my other story. Short prolouge but what would someone expect from it?

Hope you like it.


	2. The Accident

I do not own any of the bleach characters (sadly)

"Normal person talking"

"_**Hollow talking"**_

"**Zanpakuto talking"**

Note: I don't really following the Storyline so don't get confused if there are some parts that are not exactly right.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter 1 – The Accident

Ichigo walked down a dark alley. There were no humans near this place. This part of Karakura Town was barely visited. Why would someone willingly come here? There was nothing more than run down houses. It was really depressing. But also, it was a good hiding place. That is, if you knew how to hide yourself properly. Ichigo soon stood in front of a run down warehouse. The hidingplace of the Vizards. The barrier around it couldn't be seen and the reiatsu within in was never let out. You couldn't feel a trace of it even if you stood directly in front of it. The Shinigami would never find them no matter what. Ichigo suddenly found himself wondering. What would happen if they still would find them? Would they execute them? Or just imprison them. He was sure that Mayuri would even request to experiment on them. Either way, it wouldn't end well for the Vizards. A door opened in the barrier. Hachi must have noticed him. Ichigo quickly walked through, the door closing up right behind him. He was nervous. Today was the day he had to face his Hollow. What if something went wrong? He was pulled out of his train of thoughts when Shinji came over.

"You ready?" he asked. Ichigo just nodded.

"Well then come on. We don't have much time." With that said he pushed Ichigo out of his body. After dumping it hidden in a corner he motioned Ichigo to follow. Together they went down to training grounds. The others were already there. Some of them gave him reassuring smiles.

"Let's start then, shall we?" he heard a voice say from behind him. Then everything went black.

The Vizards stared at the unconscious from of the orange-haired teenager a moment longer. After silently agreeing that he really was asleep they set up the preparations for the fight.

Ichigo found himself in his inner world. The large sideways buildings and the always blue sky were in place. He looked around. Trying to find his counterpart.

"_**Lookin' for me, King?" **_a voice behind him asked. Ichigo whirled around. The Hollow was sitting on the edge of the building grinning like a maniac. As always. Ichigo drew Zangetsu from his back. Getting in a fighting stance.

"_**Ya thin' ya can suppress me? Get rid o' me? Ha! Sorry, don' thin' so, King!" **_the Hollow laughed also drawing his version of Zangestu and getting into a stance. Ichigo breathed in.

"I don't just think so. I know it!"

"_**Heh, let's see if ya really can do it then, Ichigo!" **_Both dashed at the other. The two Zangetsu clashing together and letting sparks fly though the air.

Meanwhile

"How long do you think it will take?" Shinji asked as he watched the halfway hollowfied Ichigo fight against the Vizards inside of Hachis barrier.

"Don't know... Hopefully not as long as it took Hyori. Was a pain in the ass until she managed to get that beast under control." Love said. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just... I can't shake the feeling off that something bad will happen."

"Hm..."

Ichigo's inner world

The two Zangetsu clashed again. Both, Ichigo and the Hollow, were trying to find an opening in the others defense. They jumped back and started circling each other like animals. The Hollow made the first move. He ran straight at Ichigo who raised his sword in defense seeing that the Hollow's speed stopped him from doing anything much less attacking himself. Suddenly, he disappeared. The familiar sound of Sonido could be heard behind him. He turned around only to feel the Hollow's fist connect with his face. He went flying but eventually found his balance and stopped in midair. Ichigo looked down. The albino version of himself was already hot on his heels. He swung Zangetsu down in front of him. The Getsuga Tenshou he released went crashing right into the Hollow. He waited for the dust to clear only to reveal his counterpart standing there with his normal grin and without a scratch on him. Ichigo's eyes narrowed on silent anger. It was getting frustrating! The Hollow charged again. He swung Zangetsu down on him only to have it blocked by Ichgio. He opened his mouth and...

"_**Getsuga Tenshou!" **_Ichigo's eyes widened. A white wave of reiatsu suddenly filled his vision and he was sent crashing into one of the buildings. The Hollow landed a few feet away from him.

"_**Ya really are pathetic, Ichigo! Come on! I 'aven't even one scratch on me an' ya already look 'alf dead. 'ow about givin' yer body ta me willingly an' ya can watch as I crush tha insects tha try ta suppress me?" **_He laughed. Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"I won't give up. I will show you who's stonger!" With that he poised Zangetsu in front of him. The Hollow laughed again and did the same. Daring Ichigo to go on with his move. His eyes widened again. Did the Hollow know Bankai? Ichigo hesitated. Sweat ran down his forehead. With one last moment his mind was set.

"B_**A**_N**_K_**A_**I**_!**_!_**"

Two gigantic waves of black and white reiatsu clashed together. No one noticed the almost invisible cracks that appeared on the surface of the Skyscrapers. When the reiatsu vanished, the two combatants were revealed. Ichigo growled at seeing the other.

"When did you learn Bankai!?" He demanded with a hint anger and frustration in his voice.

"_**Ain't it obvious? I learned it the same time ya did!"**_

'Damn it!' Ichigo thought and growled again. He would never lose to him. Never! They charged again. Sparks flew where the two swords met. Both fighters moved with speeds no mere human eye could follow. Still, with each clash the cracks in the ground grew further and further. The low rumble of the buildings was drowned in the sounds of the metallic sounds of the meeting Zanpakutou. Ichigo and the Hollow, unaware that something would happen soon, still fought for dominance. But it was a loosing battle for Ichigo seeing as his counterpart slowly gained the upper hand. He dived forward to strike the albino who simply dodged in the air above and released a wave of reiatsu which sent Ichigo tumbling into the ground below making a large crater. He grunted and forced himself to his feet just in time to dodge the fatal blow from his Hollow. Ichigo gritted his teeth and with a cry he pushed his other half away. The Hollow just grinned wider and attacked again not giving Ichigo a chance to catch his breath. The force of the impact caused both combatants to skit over the building barely stopping at the edge. Ichigo pushed Zangetsu down. The Hollow jumped back just in time to net get hit by the cleaver of a Zanpakutou. Blood lust shined in his black and golden eyes.

"_**Doncha thin' it's time ta end this?"**_

"Tch, that's the only thing I agree with you. You're going down Hollow!" Both let their reiatsu flow into their swords and got ready. The inner world shook under the immense pressure. With a scream both fighters charged again. The swords connected and the reiatsu around them before exploding upwards. When the spiritual energy grew the until now unnoticed cracks on the surface suddenly ripped apart and the normally stable buildings started to crumble. Some of them collapsed. Ichigo and the Hollow were forced to part as on huge part came crashing down on them. Both stopped dead in their tracks as they finally took the time to look around and at the destroyed world.

"What's happening?" Ichigo whispered as he looked at his inner world.

"_**'ow should I know. Thas not supposed ta 'appen!"**_

"**That I can answer." **A voice behind them said, startling them. They turned around to see Zangetsu walking up to them. Seemingly without problems even with the shaking world.

"**It seems the through your fight and the power that was released with it , this world became unstable and the stain you two brought upon it led to its destruction." **

Both of them looked in shock at the sword spirit. But before either of them could open their mouth to say something Zangetsu continued.

"**But I am afraid that is not all. Because it was your combined reiatsu that caused the destruction of this world your souls will merge together and become on once more."**

"We will merge? What do you mean old man?" Ichigo asked, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer.

"_**Exactly what he said, idiot! We will merge! Become one! No more King, no more Horse! Ya 'ave a brain ta thin'! Use it."**_

"Why you... ! Never mind. Zangetsu, isn't there a way to stop this? There must be!" he said panicing. There was no way in hell he wanted his soul to fuse with this crazy Hollow! The fact that he took the new rather calm just made Ichigo worry more than he already was. Zangetsu sighed and lowered his head.

"**I fear the process has already begun and is too far to be stopped now. However, I do not know how this could have happened with the mere force of your reiatsu. Normally the inner world of a Shinigami is stable and there's nothing that can disturb the balance in this world be it a fight that is fought on the inside or outside. It doesn't matter."**

"So... What will happen to us?"

"**I do not know this. It is uncertain what will happen to us. It can not be predicted. But since you two will become a completely different being, your old body will vanish and a new one will be formed to adapt to your new soul." **Zangetsu looked at both of them with sad eyes. The Hollow chose that moment to speak up.

"_**So technically the King will die? Oh well, might as well enjoy my last moments..." **_he shrugged and laid down closing his eyes and bringing his arms up under his head. Ichigo just stared at him disbelieving. How could he take all of this so lightly?

"You do know that if I die, you will too, yes?" he asked though gritted teeth.

"_**There's nothing ya can do, Ichigo. 'ow about instead of **_ **_throwing a tantrum ya sit down an' make peace with your mind. Don't want any regrets later, do ya?" _**Ichigo just stared. But... the Hollow was right. There wasn't much that could be done at the moment. He sighed and sat down right next to his counterpart. Normally he would never just give up like that. But what could they do. After all death was never the end. He smiled bitterly.

"Never thought I would see the day I would agree with you."

"_**Tch"**_ Zangetsu said nothing as he silently watched over the scene. Together they watched the destruction of the inner world. Waiting for the end.

With the Vizards

The ex-Shinigami stared at the Hollow lying in front of them. They were tired. Deep gashes could be seen on either of them. Blood dropped onto the dusty ground below. Until five minutes ago, everything was like always. Kicking the inner Hollow's butt and waiting for the Vizard to take back control. But neither of them expected the Hollow to suddenly cry out, throwing ceros all around the place causing the barrier they put around it for protection to shatter and at least laying down on the ground and curl up into a tight ball whimpering like it was in great pain. Hyori dared to go near it to see if Ichigo gained back control after all and even poled it with her Zanpakutou. The only reaction she got was a hateful hiss directed at her. The Lizard-like Hollow hadn't moved from the spot since then. Shinji narrowed his eyes at the sight. Something went wrong. Horribly wrong.

"You think you could get him out of there? " he turned to Hachi who sighed.

"I'm afraid not. I already tried bringing his soul back but it's like something is preventing any interference. My hands are sadly bound." The Hollow in front of them gave another pitiful whimper. Mashiro finally had enough and walked right up t it ignoring the protests of the others.

"What are you doing? Get back here." Kensei called from somewhere behind her. He was bluntly ignored by her. When she reached it, Mashiro gently laid a hand on his orange mane and started stroking it softly. At first the Hollow growled at her but soon found itself relaxing slightly. She turned her head around to look at the others and finally said.

"See? Mr big bad guy isn't so bad after all." Mashiro waited for a few moments to see the reactions of her friends and then added:

"Can we keep it?" It was funny to see the shocked faces of the Vizards turn into disbelieve and then went back into shock before finally answering.

"HELL NO!"

Mashiro just huffed and turned around with a pout.

Ichigo's inner world

Ichigo and the Hollow sat back to back on the last remaining piece of the buildings. The other parts already vanished or flew around in the air getting smaller with each passing second. Zangetsu stood at his pole which was surprisingly still standing. Ichigo sighed. He looked at the Hollow. Taking in every little detail. Well, there really wasn't much to take in considering that he almost looked exactly like him.

"_**'ow long are ya gonna stare at me? Am I tha interestin' for ya?"**_

He blinked. He didn't notice that he had stared until now. A small smile played upon Ichigo's lips.

"Shiro." he simply said

"_**Wah?"**_

"Your name. It's Shiro" The albino blinked. Had Ichigo just given him a name? After all he hated his guts right? The Hollow snorted.

"_**'aven't got a name."**_

"Well, now you got one. Can't keep running around calling you Hollow now, can I? And you're white. So it's Shiro."

"_**Tch... talking about being creative..."**_ The now named Shiro turned away.

"_**Thanks... I guess."**_ Zangetsu smiled a little at the display. Looks like that at the very end they are finally starting to respect each other. And without a sound he vanished. Leaving no trace.

"Looks like we won't get to finish our fight anytime soon. Right Shiro? If we ever get the chance to do so, let's make it as friends." Shiro raised an eyebrow.

"_**Oi, stop getting' sentimental on me now, King." **_Ichigo threw him a dirty look.

"Just promise, will ya?"

"_**Fine. I promise!"**_ Shiro grinned and held out his hand which his other half gladly took and with that the last remainder of the world once full of hope and determination broke apart, falling into nothingness. Ichigo and Shiro looked at each other one last time as they felt the darkness consuming them.

"See you again, Shiro."

"_**Lookin' forward to it, Ichigo!" **_The hands disappeared and the darkness fully swallowed them and soon the last glimmer of light vanished. Leaving nothing but an empty void in its place.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It acutally got better than I expected. Well nothing much for my first chapter. I just hope you enjoyed it and that I can find the time to update soon.

Bye!~


	3. Welcome to Hueco Mundo

"Normal person talking"

_**"**_**__****Hollow talking"**

**"********Zanpakuto talking"**

So here's the next chapter. I actually feel a bit guilty for updating this sooner than my other fanfic. Well, enjoy!

I still do not own any of the Bleach characters. Just Aspasia. :)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter 2 – Welcome to Hueco Mundo

Everything was black. He couldn't move. What was going on? His senses were slowly coming back. So he wasn't dead. A good sign. Until he felt the splitting headache. Well, damn. A light wind brushed over his still form. He could feel sand below him. He slowly lifted his eyelids and was greeted with white. What? Maybe he couldn't see good enough yet? His vision was indeed a bit blurry. Oh well, all he needed to do was wait for it to clear. Ah, the feeling in his numb limbs started to come back. Groaning he sat up and looked around. His vision finally cleared. The white was gone and in its place was the sand he felt under him. It was really everywhere. The whole place was a desert. Some dead trees grew here and there. How could they even grow in the first place? Somehow they looked unnatural and depressing. The man's attention went to himself. What was his name? A whisper in the back of his head. Kurosaki Ichigo it said. Yes. He remembered. That was his name. Ichigo looked over himself. His chest was bare. A hole was in the middle of it. Somehow it looked out of place. Oh well, never mind. He could think of it later. As he looked further down he noticed a ragged black cloth hanging form his waist, covering his legs. Long orange hair that reached the middle of his back floated silently in the wind. It was cold. A soft rattling noise reached his ears. Ichigo turned in its direction. A beautiful black Katana stuck out of the sands just a few feet away from him. The bright moon above gave it an almost frightening shine. Ichigo crawled over to it, not trusting his own feet yet, and pulled the slender blade out. He could see his reflection through the blade. On the left side of his head was a fragment of what seemed to be part of a mask. A single horn was attached to it. A lone streak starting at the beginning of it to the tip could be seen on it. Ichigo reached up to try to pull it off to take a closer look at it. The horn didn't budge. The rattling sound could be heard again. He looked over to it. A short chain was attached to the end of the hilt. Its purpose was unclear. Seriously, why the hell was it there? Oh well, he would find out eventually. He tugged the Katana into the white tattered obi that was around his waist, holding the ragged piece of clothing in place. Ichigo took another look around. When he saw nothing of interest he just started walking in a random direction, wondering what to do as a cold wind brushed over his naked skin. He shivered.

"Might as well find something to wear..."

Hours later Ichigo was still wandering aimlessly around. And still there was nothing but the endless desert and some dead trees here and there. The bright moon remained high over the horizon. Ichigo figured that here in this world it never left the sky. He really didn't mind though. It was a rather calming sensation to feel its shine on the skin. At leat it brought some light in this depressing place... The cloak he found, or rather took from a skeleton that laid in the sands, floated in the wind behind him. It was a ragged piece of cloth. Ichigo even had to rip it in some places so he actually could use it as a cloak. But he didn't care as long as it gave him warmth and a bit comfort. On his whole way he never once met another creature. Well actually... he met one. Ichigo thought back and allowed himself to smirk at the memory.

***Flashback***

Ichigo sat with his back against a tree in the sands. He thought about everything that had happened since he woke up here. He knew that this was a world where dead souls reside. Well, just the ones that stayed in the living world for too long. His instincts told him so much. He soon found himself wondering how he actually died. Or what his life was before. It was really annoying not to remember who he was in his live or where he lived or even how he lived. Did he have a family? What could have happened that his soul was sent here? Into a world where nothing existed... Where you were driven by instinct to survive. Yes, he knew his name. But that just wasn't enough! Only a name without connections to others than him. That didn't help much. Ichigo could already feel another headache coming. This was getting him nowhere. And worse was, he couldn't do a thing to change it. Suddenly he picked up a faint reiatsu that approached fast. Looked like the owner failing miserably in hiding it. Ichigo sighed. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back at the tree and gripped his sword. He searched for the position of the source. Just behind the sand dune on his right. Ichigo decided to play ignorant to lure the creature out of hiding. The creature chose that moment to jump out only to have its face collide with a raised foot. Ichigo opened his eyes again and looked at the tiny creature. It was a Hollow. A weak one at that. He patiently waited for it to sit up or even jump back from him. When it did nothing Ichigo frowned slightly. Had he hit it too hard? He poked it with his foot to see if it was still alive. The little Hollow suddenly whimpered and curled up in a tight ball. Ichigo raised an eyebrow. This Hollow was pathetic. Why would it think that it could beat him? But as he looked at the whimpering and shivering form on the ground something in him stirred. He almost felt guilty for hitting it. Maybe the little Hollow was just desperate to find something to eat. It looked like it hadn't eaten for days, if not weeks... Ichigo sighed. He nudged it with his foot again only for it to shriek and curl up tighter.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." he finally said. This seemed to calm it down a bit. The Hollow remained it this position for a moment longer before deciding it was safe. As is slowly sat up to face him, Ichigo got a good look at the Hollow. Bone-like armour covered its whole body. The mask on its face had the shape of an insect. A moth to be precise. The bony little wings on its back just added to the insect-like look. But the one thing that surprised Ichigo was the seize, or rather the atanomy of the Hollow. Hidden under the armour was a little kid. Merely nine in the living world. Poor kid.

"_**You promise?" **_The Hollow asked in a child-like-feminine voice.

"Yes, I promise." Ichigo sighed again. The kid stared at him as if waiting for something. After a few moments of staring he decided to speak up.

"So... what's your name, kid?"

"_**Aspasia Sola, Arrancar-san" **_Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Arrancar-san?"

"_**Yes, Arrancar-san" **_The little Hollow bowed.

"What's an Arrancar?" Aspasia's head shot up. If he could see her face he would notice that pure shock was plastered on it.

"_**You don't know?!"**_ Ichigo shook his head. Was he supposed to know? Hell, he just woke up in this world a few hours ago. Well, he thought it was a few hours.

"_**An Arrancar is the highest form of all Hollows. The goal of every Hollow is to become one. Being an Arrancar gives us a little humanity back. They are the coolest and strongest beings in Hueco Mundo. And that's exactly what you are! Don't you remember when you became one?"**_

"No"

"_**That's weird. Every Hollow should remember their evolution..."**_

"Evolution? I never went through one I think. I just woke up here not long ago." Aspasia's eyes widened behind her mask.

"_**You just woke up here? But that would mean you skipped your whole evolution. That's impossible! I never heard of a Hollow being able to do that. But then again you are not a normal Hollow. But if-"**_

"Okay, I get it! Just shut up. You're giving me a headache." Ichigo interrupted while massaging his temples.

"_**Sorry" **_The child said a little embarrassed.

"It's fine." Ichigo lowered his head and thought about what the kid just said. He was curious. If what Aspasia said was true, then why didn't he go through the process? Then another thought entered his mind. What was Aspasia? She certainly didn't reach the level to be an Arrancar.

"Kid, you're not an Arrancar. So what are _you _then?"

"_**Me? I'm an Adjuchas. It's the form that Hollows take when they just come out of Menos Forest."**_ Ichigo nodded in acknowledgement.

"I see. Please, could you tell me what the evolution of a Hollow is like?"

"_**Of corse I can, Arrancar-san! At the beginning of the evolution most of the Hollows are mindless beasts that attack everything. They normally feel a hunger that fills out the emptiness inside of them. Some of them though feel a much greater hunger than the others and begin to crave the souls of their own kind. Those Hollows start to consume each other and eventually they fuse and become Gillians. Gillians are the lowest class of Menos. Gillians are huge beings with impressive amounts of reiatsu. Normally they have no real personality because of the many Hollows "inside" of them. But sometimes one of the Hollows is strong enough and dominates the others thus having control of the Gillian. It consumes other Gillians and grows stronger and eventually it becomes an Adjuchas. If an Adjuchas doesn't consume other Hollows, they risk losing their individuality by turning back into a Gillian. Also when an Adjuchas gathered enough reiatsu they turn into a being known as a Vasto Lorde. They were the strongest kind of Hollow before the first Arrancar was born..."**_

"I see." Ichigo bowed his head and thought for a few moments. So he was an Arrancar was the strongest form of a Hollow. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree. This World was confusing and harsh. The only thing Hollows lived for was eating souls and evolve into something that could kill without hesitation. Then something came into his mind. Something that Aspasia said in her explanation. Ichigo opened his eyes and looked at her.

"How much time has passed since you last consumed another Hollow?" he suddenly asked. Aspasia tilted her head to the side before looking down into the sands with a seemingly sad expression.

"_**I... I don't know." **_she whispered.

"Come here." Aspasia obeyed and Ichigo held an arm out for her.

"Bite me. I will give you a bit reiatsu from me." She hesitated for a moment before lightly biting in his arm. As soon as she bit down, her eyes widened behind her mask at the incredible amount of spirit energy in Ichigo. But as soon as the sensation started it came to an abrupt stop when he pulled his arm away again deciding she had had enough.

"This should help you for a while."

"_**Why did you do that?"**_ Ichigo stood up, bushed off the sand and started walking away.

"Is it a crime to help someone in need?" he asked turning around again.

"_**I guess not. It's just that here in Hueco Mundo nobody ever helped me before..." **_Oh, so this was the name of this world.

"I just helped you, didn't I? Consider it as an appreciation for explaining things to me." And with a last wave he walked away leaving Aspasia to wonder about him.

***Flashback end***

While lost in his memories Ichigo never noticed the change in the scenery around him. Instead of the never ending sands of Hueco Mundo there were now a few crumbled buildings and caves in mountainsides. It was when his foot hit a small rock that Ichigo took a look around. The whole place looked odd. Unnatural. On the other hand... what in Hueco Mundo actually looked natural? But this was different. Most of the constructions were build. Apparently by Hollows. Most of the buildings were destroyed. Some of them couldn't even be recognized as buildings anymore. In the middle of all stood a huge platform. He looked up to it and couldn't help but wonder what purpose it had. Ichigo bent his knees and with powerful leap he was standing on the edge of it. He turned around and looked at the view befor him. The whole place must have been a city before it was destroyed. He didn't know that Hollows would build something like that. But what could have happened that it was now destroyed? Surley the Hollows didn't turn against each other. He turned around again to look at the platform itself. There was nothing much. Just some stairs that led to a lone chair. Maybe a throne? In the corners were some pillars. Some of them were crumbled just like the rest of the place. But if he took a closer look at them he could see some pictures engraved in them. He could see Hollows fighting against humans with swords. Shinigami. They were Shinigami. His enemies. Were they responsible for all this? Ichigo didn't know. The young Arrancar's attention went to the caves in the mountainsides. Some were huge and other were too small even for a human child. He sighed and jumped down in the sands again. A little voice inside of him told him to go on and leave this place but curiosity got the better of him so he wandered around for a while before deciding to go into one of the buildings. When Ichigo stepped inside he was mildly surprised. He stood in some kind of living room. There was an old table and some broken chairs. Old doorframes led to other part of the house. Who would have thought that Hollows would try to live like the humans in the living world. Well, nobody could blame them. It was probably mostly Vasto Lorde that lived here. They got much of their humanity back and didn't need to feed on other souls anymore. So it was natural that they would try to recreate some kind of society even though they didn't need to eat or sleep. But still, who would destroy something like that?

"_**Some of the strongest Vasto Lorde used to live here under the command of Lord Baraggan."**_ a very familiar voice next to him suddenly said making Ichigo jump in surprise. Aspasia. How could he have not noticed her? She continued.

"_**Lord Baraggan was the King of Huceo Mundo long ago. And this place was his "home". Even though he was a ruthless King, he allowed his soldiers to have a rather paecefull life. There were some fights yes, but most of them were friendly spars."**_

"But what happened here? Why is everything destroyed?"

"_**One day, three Shinigami captains came here and one of them, Aizen Sosuke, challenged him for his throne. The fight took in the middle of the city place. Both combatants didn't care about it. In the end Lord Aizen won the fight and since then he is the King of Hueco Mundo. There are rumors that Lord Baraggan is still alive and under Lord Aizen's Vasto Lorde now live in Las Noches, the palace of Lord Aizen." **_Ichigo nodded in acknowledgement before he turned to the little Adjuchas.

"So tell me, why exactly are you here?" Aspasia looked up to him and giggled.

"_**First, I didn't get to say thank you properly and second, you are different from other Arrancar and I like you. Can I stay with you?" **_Ichigo blinked and was about to say no to her when something stopped him. He would never forgive himself if something would happen to the little Hollow-child. Why did it have to be a child? He couldn't say no to a defenseless little kid! He mentally cursed his luck and sighed.

"Fine. But you have to do something about your reiatsu. You should learn how to hide it properly." Aspasia squealed and nodded eagerly. Ichigo sighed again but smiled softly. No. He really could never leave her alone in a world like this. Maybe she a bit lonely too and just wanted to have someone to keep her company. Oh well... actually he didn't mind. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a little hand pulling on the black clothing her wore. He looked down at the child.

"What is it?"

"_**Um... well, you never told me your name..."**_ he chuckled slightly. Ichigo had completely forgotten about that when they first met. He bent down to her and put a hand on her head.

"Just call me Ichigo"

"_**Alright, Ichigo-san!"**_ He stood up and started walking again. Aspasia stayed in the same place and looked at him.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go." She nodded and started running to catch up to him. Well, it seems that things just have gotten much more interesting.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

So, next chapter is up. I really do hope to make the chapters longer in the future.

See ya!


	4. Menos Forest

**Finally a new chapter! It has been a very long time since I updated this story. Oh well, just enjoy the chapter and ask if you don't understand things.**

**"Zanpakuto talking"**

_**"Hollow talking"**_

"Normal talk"

**I don't own Bleach**

* * *

**Survive Chapter 3 – Menos Forest**

Hueco Mundo was unusually quiet. The Hollows which resided within made no sound whatsoever. The suffocating silence was disturbed as two figures walked through the endless desert. Well... the taller one walking while the smaller one was running around the taller one blabbing about meaningless things. It was not given much attention though except the occasionally twitching of one eye.

„_**Ichigo-san!"**_ the smaller one cried _**„Let's do something. We have been walking all day long and it's soo boring! We don't even know where we're heading..."**_

„And what" Ichigo asked while trying to remain calm. But it was getting harder and harder. „are we supposed to do. If I may remind you... we are in Hueco Mundo, a freakin' desert! There _is_ nothing to do."

It took a while for him to realize but... he started to regret bringing Aspasia along. Sure, she was funny and it was nice to have someone to talk with but now it was just downright annoying seeing as she started complaining about her endless boredom not long ago. Said Adjuchas huffed and turned away at his answer. She was not happy with their current situation. Though Ichigo had a point. What could be done in a desert such as Hueco Mundo? A sudden thought crossed her mind. Actually, there was something they could do. Why not go to Las Noches? Lord Aizen was constantly searching for strong members for his army. Ichigo was strong. He wouldn't be an Arrancar if he wasn't. The fact alone that Ichigo _was_ an Arrancar would be just an added bonus for Lord Aizen. He wouldn't have to create one himself. And if they joined his army there would be lots of other Arrancar. Maybe even some she could play with if Ichigo wasn't there? Just as she turned back to Ichigo to voice her thoughts, the ground rumbled and without a warning the sand beneath them gave away, forming a pit filled with quicksand. Aspasia screamed in fright as she lost her footing and would have been pulled under if it wasn't for Ichigo's quick reflexes. He grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her close to him.

„Hang on tight! I'll try to get us out of here." He told her and searched for anything to grab on. Of course there was nothing and Ichigo was slowly losing the fight against the quicksand.

„Damn it!" he hissed angrily and pulled out his sword and stabbed it in the sand in a last attempt to find ground. The sword disappeared quickly and soon only their heads could be seen. Ichigo gritted his teeth and held the frightened Adjuchas closer to his body. The last thing he heard was a rumbling laughter before they were completely swallowed by the sand.

* * *

_Unknown Location_

The screams and howls of the beasts that inhabited the seemingly endless forest under the desert known as Hueco Mundo stopped for a brief second as the „ceiling" of their in darkness covered home parted. A bundle fell through to the ground. It hit a few branches of one of the mighty, dead trees, that rose high above the ground and into the sands, before it crashed painfully hard on the unforgiving ground. Ichigo groaned. Not only was the landing anything but pleasant, but in their fall he maneuvered himself so that he was under Aspasia. With his hard skin it wasn't as hard as it could have been, but still, playing cushion was never comfortable.

„What the hell was that?" Ichigo asked, still not getting what happened just a minute ago. His answer, however, was only a small groan coming from the one little being lying on top of him. He looked down to his chest. But there, knocked out and with swirls as eyes, did not lay the little Adjuchas he had met a while ago, but some small Hollow he never remembered to have travelled with. Startled, and with a small not-so-manly yelp that he would deny until his very last breath came from him, he shoved it of and jumped up to scan his surroundings for his clumsy companion. Sadly he didn't find her. Of course... that would be too easy.

_'Damn it! When did we get separated? I could have sworn that I had her the whole time!', _he thought. Panic started to rise in him as he still surveyed the strange place he had landed in. _'Shit, shit, shit, shit! What do I do?'_ he thought. Ichigo sighed. It seemed he had to go looking for her and he hoped that when Aspasia was found, she would be alright. With that in mind he sheathed his sword and jumped up onto one of the branches and hopped from tree to tree to begin his search. But in his haste he never took notice of the human like figure above which started to follow him.

Aspasia couldn't believe it. She didn't _want_ to believe it. How could this have happened?! For all this time she worked so hard to remain in her state as Adjuchas, only to come back here because of the Guardian of Hueco Mundo Runuganga. But why did he attack them. They were Hollows. They belonged to the same kind. Still, after all this time, why did she have to end up in Menos Forest again? This was the very place she never _ever_ wanted to set foot in again. Her little body shivered in fear. When she crashed into the ground, she was all alone. But Ichigo fell with her, didn't he? And she knew she never let go. And she didn't either. But... she could remember being grabbed from behind. Something separated them. But why? So many questions flew through her head. None of which she could find an answer to. The howl of a Hollow nearby pulled her out of her thoughts. Aspasia knew she had to get moving. Every single one of the creatures here would soon be after her if they felt her reiatsu. After all, it wasn't every day that an Adjuchas and an Arrancar class Hollow fell into Menos Forest. And with one last look around, she abandoned her fear and ran deeper into the forest. She just hoped that Ichigo wouldn't be far away and she would find him before someone or something could find her...

Ichigo on the other hand just growled in frustration. Aspasia shouldn't have landed far away from his position when they were separated. But he still couldn't find a trace of her reiatsu. _'Where could that girl be?' _he thought to himself while still looking around. But all he could see were Hollows and more Hollows and some huge black things that he assumed were Menos Grande or Gillians as they were also called. He halted on a branch far above the Hollows and Menos to oversee the place. It wasn't something you could call a nice scenery. The darkness that covered the whole forest shortened his sight and did little to nothing to help his search.

_'What should I do?' _he wondered silently. A thought crossed his mind. When Aspasia bit him a few days ago, he gave her some of his reiatsu to keep her from turning back into a Gillian. Maybe she still had some of it in her system. Then he could find her through it. It shouldn't be too hard. Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated. The sounds around him vanishing as he focused on all the different reiatsu signatures that came from the Hollows that resided here. Then he found it. It was nothing more than a small spark in the darkness, but it had his own reiatsu signature, even if it was barely present, mixed in.

„Found you!", he said out loud. Just as Ichigo prepared to follow that signature, his instincts were screaming at him and he jumped out of the way just as a cero was about to hit him.

„Wha-?" that was as far as the young Arrancar came as he had to dodge another cero thrown his way. When Ichigo found foot again, he turned to look at the source of the deadly beam. A few Menos had noticed him and were all charging their own cero.

„Why are they attacking me?", he wondered, feeling slightly annoyed by the sudden assault, „I don't have time for you guys..."

He knew that if he stayed to fight, he would lose the signature and it would be harder to find it again because of the reiatsu that would be released through the fight. More ceros were thrown his way as Ichigo tried to avoid them. One managed to graze him, leaving a small part of his skin burned on one of his legs. Ichigo hissed at the pain. This was getting annoying. He still jumped from tree to tree high above their heads and tried losing them. But it seemed like they wouldn't give up that easily. Sure, those Menos were kind of slow, but at one point they must have called some friends because his pursuers were getting more and more. Ichigo knew he couldn't let himself be distracted so he just continued his way and followed Aspasia's reiatsu signature while still dodging attacks from the Menos. It didn't take long until he found her and he almost sighed in relief that she seemed okay until Ichigo saw the group of Hollows hot on her heels. He groaned and wanted nothing more than get back up to the surface at that moment. Sighing, he hopped down behind the screaming Adjuchas and in the way of the Hollows, drew his sword and attacked. In mere seconds, the Hollows were disappearing in small spirit particles. Ichigo just stood there.

_'When did I learn to fight with that sword? Oh well, maybe it was instinctive.' _, the young Arrancar was pulled out of his thoughts by a small joyful cry accompanied by a fierce hug.

„**Ichigo-san! I'm so happy that you found me! I thought that I would die!"** Aspasia cried with anime-tears running down her face. Ichigo sighed. She really was too young for such things. But it wasn't like he could change that fact. Still, it was good to see that the Adjuchas doing well.

„Come on, Aspasia. It's okay now. I'm here. But I think we should find the way out now before more of them come after us."

„**That's right!",** she said happily and wiped her tears of her masked face. **„But I don't know the way."**

„Great", he murmured annoyed „How did you get out of here in the first place if you don't know the way?" A simple shrug was his only answer. Just as he was about to say some more, a loud howl reached their ears. Both, the Arrancar and the Adjuchas turned to the source. There, in all their nonexistent glory, stood the now big group of Menos that Ichigo had made acquaintance with earlier.

_'Damn it! How could I have forgotten about them?!'_ he thought desperately, while the huge beings were already charging their ceros again. He cursed at his own stupidity and jumped out of the way. Aspasia shrieked as they landed on one of the high trees again and started making their way through Menos Forest, the Menos still following below.

It wasn't like Ichigo couldn't take a few of them... but the group grew steadily and since he still didn't know his own limit, he feared that he wouldn't be able to fight the Menos Grande and keep Aspasia safe at the same time. This whole situation was really frustrating and slowly getting out of hand! Why did this have to happen to him? Did fate really hate him so much? But it seemed like he had no other choice. He had to fight... Ichigo sighed and came to a halt on a high perched branch. He set the little Adjuchas down and unsheathed his sword.

„Stay here" he told her, „and don't come down and don't make anything stupid like drawing the attention of the Menos to yourself."

When Aspasia nodded Ichigo charged at the huge Hollows. Jumping from one to another, his sword slicing through them like butter. From afar it looked like a he was dancing. A lethal dance, killing every living being within its reach. The beautiful black katana now soaked in dark red blood, scattering it everywhere with every swing. But for every fallen Menos two other appeared to take its place and soon Ichigo found himself having difficulties in attacking and dodging at the same time. There were just too many of them. Some of them managed to graze him, leaving angry burn marks on his skin. Sure, he wasn't even tired, but if this kept up like this for a while, then he would be. No doubt.

While Ichigo was busy killing Menos, Aspasia still sat on the exact same spot the young Arrancar had left her staring at the battle below. It was interesting to see him handle the situation down there with skills he apparently acquired just a few moments ago. She wondered where he could have gotten it. Maybe it was his instinct? An instinct to battle? Or he learned it when he was still alive. The Adjuchas shook her head. That couldn't be the reason. Right? Souls normally didn't remember anything from their lives as mortals. But... Ichigo was something else. Just feeling his aura gave anyone who was near him was different. _He_ was different from normal Hollows or Arrancar. Aspasia vaguely remembered a meeting with one Arrancar a long time ago. Shortly after she turned into an Adjuchas. He was absolutely terrifying. Back then she was frozen in place from the strong aura coming from him. It wasn't just because it was strong, but the hatred that radiated from his very person was what made her do so. She knew she was lucky to have survived the encounter with the Arrancar back then. But the aura surrounding Ichigo was not one of hatred or other dark feelings. It was one of protection and safety. That was one of the reasons why she opened up to him that quickly. Normally her whole person was filled with mistrust. When she first saw him, lying there at the tree and seemingly asleep, she just saw him as food and nothing else. But when Ichigo spoke to her... It just made Aspasia feel comfortable and safe. She knew that Hueco Mundo was a cruel world. And Hollows with emotions like love or kindness were seen as weak and pathetic. They were throughout seen to be a disgrace to all Hollows and would be killed on the spot. While deep in her thoughts, the little Adjuchas failed to notice a person appearing behind her. Only when a ripping sound filled the air she jerked and quickly turned around. She gave a small startled sound when said person grabbed her and tossed her trough the opening Garganta. When she processed what was happening, she uttered a loud scream as she began to fall.

Ichigo, hearing her cry, quickly turned around only to see the masked face of Aspasia disappearing in the slowly closing rip know as Garganta.

„ASPASIA!" he screamed and hurriedly jumped after her and into the consuming darkness between the worlds.

Never did he see the person responsible for this standing not far away before vanishing once the young Arrancar was through the portal.

* * *

**Okay, next chapter finished! Sorry for the long wait. **

**Well, I've been planning to make a pairing later in the story though I'm still not sure about it. But if I'm gonna do it, I'll just ask you which pairing you would like to have.**

**My favourites would be one of those:**

**Ichigo/Harribel**

**Ichigo/Rukia**

**Ichigo/Neliel**

**You can of course voice your own favourite. I'll tell you guys what pairing it will be when we come to that part. **

**Aaaaand... If you're wondering how the Hollow got on Ichigo when he fell down into Menos Forest, just think about the mysterious person that followed them. I'm sure most of you can guess who that person was.**

**And just so you know: Next chapter will take place in the human world/world of the living whatever you want to call it.**

**Well, hope you enjoyed it! :)**


End file.
